UK unemployment holds at 4.9% with claimant rise of 6.7K, beating forecasts and supporting GBP against EUR.
The EUR/GBP pair fell below 0.8500 on Tuesday, retreating from Friday’s highs near 0.8515. The move follows stronger-than-expected UK employment data, which showed the ILO unemployment rate steady at 4.9% for the three months to May, defying expectations of a rise to 5%.
Unemployment claimants increased by 6.7K, significantly below the 28.3K forecast, while April’s figure was revised down to 1.3K from 31.2K. Despite the positive data, the Pound’s gains remained limited amid broader geopolitical risks and rising oil prices.
Geopolitical tensions, including US strikes in Iran and Houthi threats to Saudi oil exports, continued to weigh on sentiment, capping Euro rallies. Crude prices eased slightly from six-week highs, but supply concerns persisted.